The most important stop of this Dali trip was shooting this set of The Shorekeeper on this coast during the evening blue hour.
When I received this shooting task, I was thinking about how to combine the serenity of this Wuthering Waves character with the Cangshan Mountains and Erhai Lake in Dali. The weather on the day of the shoot was incredibly supportive. The sky and the vast expanse of water presented a highly pure, cool blue tone, perfectly fitting the character's overall atmosphere with almost no need for excessive manual intervention. The photographer Cx330 was highly professional in charting a car and accompanying the shoot. He scouted the location in advance and found this shoal covered with massive deadwood and gravel. These natural elements beautifully neutralized the distance brought by the exquisite styling, giving the final prints a touch of narrative depth and vitality.
The structure of the costume we chose is quite layered. The deep blue hood on the head and the light blue wig with straight bangs form a contrast of light and dark shades in color. The skirt adopts a patchwork of multiple materials, featuring both a stiff white section to support the silhouette and a blue tulle train with subtle sparkles, as well as a light-colored, silky reflective fabric. These materials generate different gloss refractions under cool-toned light, posing high requirements for color unification during post-production editing. When wearing the white butterfly accessories and the silver chain wrapped around the arm, I paid extra attention to the firmness of the details, as moving around by the water makes it very easy to get snagged by deadwood or debris. Some minor issues indeed occurred during the shoot. For example, in the standing shot looking back, I could barely keep my eyes open due to the sea breeze, but it also unexpectedly brought some lightweight, fluttering effects.
Rather than dramatic, dynamic movements, this styling is more suited for quiet frozen frames. In the photo sitting sideways on the deadwood, I deliberately slowed down the rhythm of my movements, letting my body's center of gravity sink as much as possible, paired with the gesture of putting my hand close to my cheek, attempting to display an inner sense of loss or waiting. The vast backdrop of the coast beautifully sets off the figure. The clear water surface forms a natural mirror, reflecting the light and dark blue of the sky. When I looked into the distance, I felt as if my entire emotion dissolved into this blue, leaving no redundant thoughts.
For this shoot, I chose to keep the makeup as clean and translucent as possible, focusing on enhancing the depiction of the eye makeup to highlight the cool tone of the eye color. Since the ambient light was very soft, excessive contouring was avoided to preserve the natural texture of the skin. During shooting breaks, I also discussed many composition ideas with Cx330, such as the position of the water's dividing line and how to utilize the wood in the foreground to increase the layers of the frame. This detailed communication was highly helpful for the final photo production.
In post-processing, we maintained the overall cool-toned baseline of the photos, with a subtle blue highlight capturing the reflection of the water surface. I feel that when shooting characters in such wilderness environments, one shouldn't excessively pursue brightness and saturation; preserving the texture of the air and the cool tone of the environment transmits the emotion of the photos much better. This was also a highly comfortable and smooth photo production experience. The matching of the attire and the tacit agreement with the location made this afternoon Dali photoshoot filled with enjoyment. The tranquil sunset of Dali and the soft whispering of Erhai's waves were the best accompaniment for my photo release this time. Being in this space where blue and blue overlap, some of the character's own serene temperament naturally flowed out. Perhaps this is the sense of immersion brought by the environment. There is no need to deliberately create it; one only needs to stand still there and let the shutter capture that most natural state as a form of cosplay sharing in this blue tone portrait.